


Take Me To Mars, Part Two: Once I'm Inside

by Fierystorm22



Series: DBZ AUFT [3]
Category: Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragonball
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-14
Updated: 2017-07-25
Packaged: 2018-12-02 01:28:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11498904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fierystorm22/pseuds/Fierystorm22
Summary: He appeared above me, grabbed my wrists and shoved them to the ground above my head. “I need to see you,” he breathed, transferring my left wrist to his other hand so he was holding both wrists in one hand, pretty much oblivious to the fact that I was fighting against him.How strong is he?!He curled his fingers into my hood-“We’re about to see Satsu's face for the first time! Oh, my! I'm so excited!”With a sound that seemed too loud for it to make, the hood ripped off of my face, and Gohan stared down at me, eyes wide. After throwing the hood away, he broke the hair-tie holding my hair into a low bun, and spread my hair out under me as best he could. His eyes were huge. “Whoa,” he breathed, staring at me. His lips twitched, and he lowered toward me.





	1. It's Been Awhile

**Author's Note:**

> Continuation of the first one.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I need to see you,” he breathed, transferring my left wrist to his other hand so he was holding both wrists in one hand, pretty much oblivious to the fact that I was fighting against him.  
> How strong is he?!  
> He curled his fingers into my hood-  
> “We’re about to see Satsu's face for the first time! Oh, my! I'm so excited!”  
> With a sound that seemed too loud for it to make, the hood ripped off of my face, and Gohan stared down at me, eyes wide. After throwing the hood away, he broke the hair-tie holding my hair into a low bun, and spread my hair out under me as best he could. His eyes were huge. “Whoa,” he breathed, staring at me. His lips twitched, and he lowered toward me.

Prologue

 

It's been awhile  
Since I couldn't  
Hold my head up high  
And it's been awhile  
Since I first saw you  
And it's been awhile  
Since I could stand  
On my own two feet again  
And it's been awhile  
Since I could call you  
And all the things I can't remember  
As fucked up as it all may seem  
The consequences that are rendered  
I stretch myself beyond my means

And it's been awhile  
Since I could say  
That I wasn't addicted  
It's been awhile  
Since I could say  
I loved myself as well  
And it's been awhile  
Since I've gone and  
Fucked things up  
Just like I always do  
And it's been awhile  
But all that shit  
Seems to disappear  
When I'm with you

 

“Don't mess this up, Sera,” I told myself for the millionth time. “You can do this.” It would be easy. Just a bunch of humans to beat. I knew if I didn't win, Adleca would be pissed at me. He’d probably try to kill me. Not that me losing was very possible. After all, it was just humans—the hardest to beat would be Videl, Hercule Satan’s daughter.  
I was the two time champion. People out there knew me. Videl, this would be her debut tournament. And I felt bad for that, because I wasn't about to lose. Hercule had thrown tournaments once a year on his daughter’s birthday for the past three years. Now, he was letting her compete. I'd only competed twice. The first time I hadn’t been able to.  
Everyone was excited about Hercule Satan's daughter competing this year. Everyone was calling her name, rooting her on. They'd made banners for her and everything.  
Unfortunately for her, I was also competing, and I also had people cheering for me and holding up banners. Twice champion apparently made me a little bit of a celebrity.  
This year, I was still wearing the hood, but I'd switched out the full body Gi for black short shorts, white wraps under them to my knees, a low cut black top that ended right under my breasts, with white wraps covering my torso to my hips, black, elbow-length leather gloves, and black, thigh high leather boots. My hood was the same as it always was, with the removable blindfold on it. And I still went by Satsu, so everyone knew I was here again.  
Adleca made me compete for the money. 11,000,000 zeni when I first competed, 13,000,000 now. 12,000,000 the second year. It went up every year.  
“Not a lot of competition here,” I heard someone say.  
“Just weak power levels, that's all.”  
“At least we got each other to fight,” the first voice spoke again.  
“Do not go all out,” a new voice said. “Goten, Trunks, I mean it. Don't destroy this ring.”  
_Goten? Trunks?!_  
“Alright. Jeeze, Gohan, do you think we’re five?”  
_Gohan!? Oh, no! It can't be! No way_!  
“Be careful out there. Don't hurt anyone.”  
“Yes, mom,” the owner of the first voice said.  
“We aren't totally dumb, you know.”  
“Sure act like it,” Gohan muttered.  
“You Know, you’d probably be a lot less grumpy if you slept instead of searching for-!”  
“Trunks!” the second voice piped up.  
“Well, it’s the truth!”  
“Trunks,” Gohan said warningly.  
“If she wanted found, you'd have found her by now.”  
“Goten, stop staring.”  
“I can't help it. She's the only one wearing a hood.”  
A minute passed.  
“ _Now_ who's staring?” Goten demanded.  
_Wait. I'm wearing a hood. ._ . . I tried desperately not to fidget when I realized he was staring at me.  
“Probably because she's wearing a hood, like-!”  
“First round! Videl Satan Vs. Yasuo Takahashi!”  
I could feel two people leave the room, and I fidgeted then slightly. Several minutes passed.  
“Go over and talk to her, instead of staring like a creeper.”  
“I-I'm not-!”  
“Fine, I'll go talk to her.”  
I heard a footstep, then two, then, “Whoa! Videl Satan everyone! We knew she’d win, but not so fast! Look at that! She's a real chip off the ol' block!”  
Everyone paused.  
“Round two. Oh, look! A crowd favorite. Satsu Vs. Videl Satan!” Cheers erupted. “Darn, and I was hoping that fight would be last!”  
I stood, wincing at how obvious “Satsu” seemed now, and walked quickly out of the room, up the steps to the stage, and stood a few feet away from Videl.  
“A change in costume, everyone, but that's Satsu alright!”  
Deciding I wanted to be able to see this time—and because I was curious what Gohan, Goten, and Trunks looked like now—I removed the blindfold part of my uniform, throwing that outside the ring.  
“Whoa! Look at that! In two years, Satsu has never removed her blindfold! Guess she thinks Videl is going to be hard enough without the blindfold! This should be an amazing match! Oh, I'm getting butterflies!”  
As he droned on and on, my eyes were drawn toward the archway of the waiting room, where I now saw three teenaged boys standing. The one on the left had lavender hair, blue eyes, and wore a normal Saiyan uniform. He had high cheekbones, a widow’s peak, and tanned skin, with a strong, straight nose and pale red lips.  
The one on the right had crooked, spiked hair, black eyes, and high, slightly rounded cheekbones, with a strong nose, angular chin, and pale red lips. He wore an orange Gi, like I remembered Goku wearing.The one in the middle, the tallest, had shorter, messy, slightly spiked black hair, black, upturned eyes, high, sharp cheekbones, a strong nose with a slight bump in it, suggesting it had been broken before, and a squared chin that ended in a slight point. He had red, full lips, and his eyes were intense, locked on me. He wore a familiar purple Gi, with a blue belt.“And now that I see her eyes for the first time, let me tell you all, they are a beautiful blue!”I Iwardly groaning, I turned away from the trio, kicking myself for not thinking about that. My eye color.

“And here we go! Start!”

Videl studied me, and I studied her. Slightly taller than me, with long black hair pulled into pigtails, she wore a white, long shirt, and black knee-length leggings, with black gloves and black boots. She had black eyes.  
Movement drew my eyes back to the trio. The tallest one was still there, but the other two had home inside. He was staring at me with intense, perceptive eyes.  
I turned back toward Videl in time to dodge a kick, but a glance back at the boy made me stumble over my own feet.  
“Satsu’s already having trouble! Oh, no! Looks like Videl will make quick work of her!”  
_Yea, right_ , I thought to myself, rolling my eyes.  
Videl paused. “You should just surrender. I'm not about to lose!”  
“Graciously Videl has offered Satsu the chance to back out! Will Satsu take it?!”  
_Hell no_. I surged forward, shoving my knee into her stomach before she could react, then overhead pounded her into the ground. Backing away, I waited for her to get up.  
“Videl’s down—no, wait, she's up! She's mad! She's going!”  
And I dodged her next attack with a neat backbend. Placing my hands on the ground beside my head, I flipped over, shoving my feet into her stomach. The kick sent her flying upward.  
She screamed, and I wasn't sure if it was rage, pain, or fear, but as she fell downward, she started to flip, ready to land on her feet.  
Unfortunately for her, I was waiting. Right before she touched down, I roundhouse kicked her, sending her flying out of the ring. She hit the ground hard.  
Silence fell over the audience as everyone looked at each other, at Videl, at me. Then, cheers erupted from my fans, while Videl's side booed.  
“Videl is out of the ring! She's out! Satsu has won! What an amazing match! Videl really made Satsu work for it!”  
_No, she really didn't._  
“Are you as stoked as I am about that fight? That was incredible! Who's next? Uhh, Emiko Tanaka Vs. Satsu!”  
A moment of silence.  
“Emiko? Emiko Tanaka?!”  
Another moment. Nobody was coming out. The trio were all inside. Then Trunks sprinted out of the waiting room. “Emiko went home, talking about a stomachache.”  
“Uhh, okay then. How about . . .Tsuki Miyamoto?”  
“She went home. Stomachache.”  
“Kei Sake?”  
He shook his head. “Stomachache.”  
“Usagi Sei?”  
“Nope.”  
“Uhh, Mina Momoto?”  
“Nada.”  
“Aoi Daichi?”  
“Nope, he has a-!”  
“Stomachache,” he deadpanned. “Well, what about you?” the announcer snapped, clearly getting irritated.  
Trunks made a face. “Oh, nah. I'll pass. I have a stomachache.”  
“Is anyone well enough to fight?!”  
“I am,” the tallest black haired boy from earlier stepped out.  
“Fine, then you fight her!”  
As he made his way toward the ring, I knew without a doubt, that was planned.  
“And make it a good one! Apparently it’s the last round. Er, what's your name again?”  
“Gohan.”  
“Satsu Vs. Gohan! Start!”  
I watched him, and he watched me. Finally, unable to stand the tension, I started toward him, then stopped, rocking back on my heels.  
He smiled in a way that told me that amused him greatly. “Antsy?” he asked softly.  
Without realizing it, I nodded, then gritted my teeth against that stupidity.  
He smiled wider. “I guess I'll get it started then!” He darted toward me in a blur of speed I hadn't been expecting, hand outstretched.  
I barely managed to duck around him, but I felt his fingers graze my hood. I darted around him, turning toward him after I was at the edge of the ring. My hood was askew. I reached up to fix it as he turned around.  
“That was a close one for Satsu! One more second, and we might've seen the face behind the hood!”  
Gohan met my eyes, one brow rising. “Too slow for you? Maybe I should speed things up!”  
And he was suddenly in front of me. I hadn't seen a blur—nothing. He was just ten feet away, then in front of me. My body was reacting before my eyes caught up, and I ducked around him again. Only he was faster. His hand closed around my elbow. I twisted away, kicking at the back of his knees, forcing him to let go. Then I fled to the other end of the ring.  
“Satsu is out of breath! She's panting! Could this newcomer be the end of her two year reign?!”  
_I_ am _panting! What's wrong with me! Fear,_ I realized. _Fear is what's wrong with me._  
 _I'm afraid._  
Gohan was advancing again. Slowly this time. And I suddenly felt like prey.  
“It’s like watching a game of cat and mice! Satsu is the mouse this time!”  
So it even looked like I was prey. Yay.  
Then he was gone again.  
Chuckling from behind me, followed by, “Boo.”  
With that said, I turned and bolted into the air, away from the ring, away from the tournament.  
I maybe made it ten feet before he caught me.  
“Oh, my-Satsu was running away?! Was Satsu just attempting to forfeit?! Satsu, you can't lose now!”  
Gohan caught me from behind, one arm wrapping around my waist, trapping my arms, and one hand curling around my hip. Panic rose in me.  
“Pl-please don't!” I stammered.  
“Don't what? Don't take your hood off?” His voice was soft.  
I struggled against his body, trying to free my trapped arms, but it was useless. “Go-Gohan, please-!”  
“I've been looking for you. Ever since you disappeared. Why did you run? Why didn't you tell me? Serazai, why didn't you come back?”  
Realizing my struggling had pushed the hand on my hip ever higher, I stopped, breathing harder. Trying to calm my breathing, I tried to remember what I should've done in a hold like this. Reaching my left arm around myself, I filled my hand with Ki, and let it out.  
But he'd let go before the blast could hit him. Instead of letting me go, however, he'd shoved me down toward the ring. I touched down just as he did, and I backed away from him.  
He vanished again, but I felt him sweep my feet out from under me and shove me to the ground. He appeared above me, grabbed my wrists and shoved them to the ground above my head. “I need to see you,” he breathed, transferring my left wrist to his other hand so he was holding both wrists in one hand, pretty much oblivious to the fact that I was fighting against him.  
_How strong is he?!_  
He curled his fingers into my hood-  
“We’re about to see Satsu's face for the first time! Oh, my! I'm so excited!”  
With a sound that seemed too loud for it to make, the hood ripped off of my face, and Gohan stared down at me, eyes wide. After throwing the hood away, he broke the hair-tie holding my hair into a low bun, and spread my hair out under me as best he could. His eyes were huge. “Whoa,” he breathed, staring at me. His lips twitched, and he lowered toward me.  
My eyes widened.  
He reached behind my head to grab my hair in one hand, holding my head in place, and his lips touched mine.  
“Are we witnessing Satsu’s first kiss? What is happening here?! What's going on?!”  
He yanked sharply on my hair, and my struggling stopped. My eyes slid closed. My heart was pounding, and all I could hear was the blood rushing in my ears. Then I could hear his breathing. Soft, a little unsteady. I could feel his heart pounding against my chest. I couldn't breathe. My chest felt tight, head light.  
_His lips are really soft._  
He angled his mouth over mine slightly, hand tightening in my hair. My heart seemed to skip a beat, and I made a small breathy sound. Something wet, warm, touched my lower lip. He flicked his tongue tip across the slight parting of my lips—  
And I jerked away, twisting my head to the side. In a moment of panicked desperation, I kneed upward, not caring where I hit, but knowing I hit him in the groin when he groaned painfully. I shoved him to the side and bolted.  
“Se!” I heard two voices calling. Glancing back, I saw Trunks and Goten bolting after me. “Se, your sisters-!”  
I dove headfirst into a crowd of people, weaving this way and that until—  
I was yanked into a small alcove. Adleca glared down at me. “You let him fucking kiss you. What is wrong with you?!”  
“I didn't let him do anything—he me pinned!”  
“Whatever. We've got to get out of here.” He yanked his shirt over his head, then shoved it into me. Putting his hat on my head, he said, “There. If they see us leave, I'll kill him. Slowly.” His eyes flashed. “I'll make it painful.”  
Ducking my head, I followed Adleca into the crowd.  
The last thing I heard Gohan yell was my name.

 

 

 


	2. King of Anything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He nodded. “Yea. I like math.” He watched me read over my notes for a moment. “It's none of my business,” he said after a moment, making me look up, “but after meeting Don, and seeing how you two interact. . . . Why are you with him?”
> 
> “Why do you want to know?” I asked him, wincing at the ice in my own voice.
> 
> “He seems kinda . . . selfish. And rude. And the way he talks to you, it just . . . seems like he has no respect for you. Why would you want to be with someone like that?”
> 
> I watched him for a moment. “Gohan, is the reason you asked me here to look over notes, or to ask about my personal life?”
> 
> He looked away slightly. “It just seems wrong for you to be with someone like that. . . .”
> 
> “Well, no offense, but who I'm with isn't really any of your business, is it?” Hearing how harsh that sounded, and wanting desperately not to be harsh to him—though, why, I didn't know—I added, “There's a lot going on that you can't see.”
> 
> “Well, make me see, then.”

King of Anything

 

Keep drinking coffee, stare me down across the table  
While I look outside  
So many things I'd say if only I were able  
But I just keep quiet and count the cars that pass by

You've got opinions, man  
We're all entitled to 'em, but I never asked  
So let me thank you for your time,  
And try not to waste anymore of mine  
And get out of here fast

I hate to break it to you babe, but I'm not drowning  
There's no one here to save

Who cares if you disagree?  
You are not me  
Who made you king of anything?  
So you dare tell me who to be?  
Who died and made you king of anything?

You sound so innocent, all full of good intent  
Swear you know best  
But you expect me to jump up on board with you  
And ride off into your delusional sunset

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

'Would you knock it off already?” I snapped at Sharpner, looking up from my notes. “ _Some_ of us are trying to listen.”

He turned from his latest victim to me, glaring. “Why don'cha mind your own business, nerd? Your boyfriend would be pissed if he heard you talking like that to me. I'm his best friend, after all.”

I rolled my eyes. “Like I give a damn, Sharpie. And when you're talking so loud, you're interrupting my learning, you are my business.”

“Oh, go back to your note-taking, you little suckup, before I-!”

“Before you _what_ , Sharpner?” I growled, eyes narrowing.

“Would you two shut up?!” Videl snapped, looking over. “Sera, you're freaking annoying, and, Sharpner, you're loud and nobody wants to hear it today. Shut up already.”

Although annoyed at Videl calling _me_ annoying, I was satisfied as Sharpner turned to face forward finally. _About time,_ I thought.

Videl, sitting on the table instead of her chair—as usual—glanced over at Sharpner. “Hey, you're not the golden fighter, are you?”

“I spend my mornings in the gym. I'd never have time for that.”

“Excuse me, everyone. Let me introduce our new student.” Our teacher looked toward the door. “Come on in.”

In walked a tall, teenaged boy. He had black, unruly, slightly spiked hair. Upturned, black eyes sat on either side of a strong nose with a slight bump in it. High, sharp cheekbones sat on either side of his nose. His jawline was squared, chin ending in a bit of a point, giving a very ethnic face. He had full, red lips, the only thing about him that seemed somewhat feminine. He wore beige pants, a black vest, and a white shirt, along with the high school badge we all wore, and carried his books in an offhand manner. Looking up, he smiled. “H-hi, everyone! I'm Gohan. N-nice to meet you all!”

“Wow, he's cute!” Erasa gushed, blushing slightly, and I rolled my eyes.

 _You think_ every _new guy is cute._ She wasn't wrong, though.

“Hey, I've seen him before,” I heard Videl mutter.

“Yea?” Sharpner said, leaning back on his arms. “Looks like a goody-goody nerd to me.”

“I believe there's an empty seat next to Ms. Miyamora. Ms. Miyamora, would you raise your hand, please?”

I glanced up at that, then at the empty seat next to me Adonis had been trying to claim—but he couldn't get into this class. I raised my hand.

He looked toward me, and seemed to pause a moment before walking the distance to take the seat beside me.

“Hi, there!” Erasa called. “I'm Erasa. That's Videl over there. Videl's Hercule Satan's daughter!”

Gohan looked over at that, eyes widening slightly. “Wow. Really?”

“Aw, you're so shocked!” Erasa said, giggling.

“You're Hercule's daughter?”

“That's right! You should thank her! After all, it's only because of her dad we're all still here!”

“Hey,” Videl said suddenly. “You're that guy I saw earlier. At the crime scene.”

Gohan glanced down, toward me, then nodded. “Yea, that's right.”

“Wow! Did the Golden Fighter show up again?”

“What? Golden Fighter?” Gohan asked. “Who is that?”

“That's right, you're new. You don't know anything. He's shown up three times, has golden hair, and is really popular.”

Gohan sat down, sinking into his chair a bit.

“That old guy I talked to, he said he was wearing a black vest over a white shirt, and light pants. And that he went to our school, because he was wearing a badge. That description fits you,” Videl told him.

“Wow, that's right!”

“Hey, quiet down up there!”

“Don't bother comparing the two. They don't look anything alike. Does he look like he has golden hair?” Sharpner pointed out.

“That's true. But he sure got pale!” Erasa laughed again. “So, Gohan, do you travel to school, or do you have an apartment?”

Glancing at me again, he said, “Oh, I come from home.”

“Where do you live?”

“East 429 Chikyuu is where I live.”

I felt tension bunch in my abdomen at that. _I know that address._ I shifted in my seat, drawing Gohan's eyes to me.

“What?! That's over 1,000 km from here! Even with a jet, it would take five hours to get here!”

“Quiet down up there!”

Erasa quieted her voice. “So how do you even get here?!”

“Uh, t-that's why I was late getting here this morning!” He looked down at me then. “Do you live nearby?”

Everything in me told me to lie to him, to tell him I, also, lived 1,000 kms out of town. But the truth tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop it. “No, Don and I share an apartment together in town.”

The instant I said that, I wanted to clench my hands over my mouth, and he smiled, then frowned. “Who's Don?”

“Don is her boyfriend,” Erasa told him, giving me a slightly unpleasant look. “He gets really mad when other guys talk to Sarah, too.”

I was getting really irritated with the way they were pronouncing my name again—and I knew she did it on purpose. “It's Say-Rie,” I snapped, then felt an instant icy fear clasp down on me when I saw the look that passed over Gohan's face—too fast for anyone else to catch it.

“Sera?” Gohan repeated, and I realized why he seemed so familiar—and then kicked myself for not seeing it earlier.

_Gohan. Goku. Goten. Trunks. Oh, my Gods. Why does he show up everywhere I am?!_

“So, tell me, Gohan,” Erasa started, smiling at him, “do you have a girlfriend?”

He glanced at me, and his face flushed. “N-no, I don't.”

Erasa squealed. “So you're single? That's pretty cool. I'm single, too.”

“And you're dating this Don guy?” he asked, looking at me.

“ _Dating_ isn't what I'd call it,” Erasa said, her tone clearly implying she was insulted. “They're practically married. They live together and everything.”

His brow furrowed at that. “You're really young for that, don't you think?”

“I think it's really romantic—they're so totally in love with each other!”

I rolled my eyes, which Gohan caught and gave me a concerned look, and smiled. “Totally,” I lied.

“Though _why_ Donny puts up with her, I'll never know,” Sharpner chimed in. “She treats him like she hates him most of the time.”

He glanced at me. “Really? Why?”

“I do _not_ treat him like I hate him.” _I do hate him. For everything he's done to me._

“Because she's a stuckup prude.”

I turned to glare at Sharpner. “You know what, Sharpie? Why don't you but out of anything that doesn't involve you? Including my relationships.”

“Keep treating Donny like shit, you won't _have_ a relationship.”

 _If only it were that easy to lose that asshole,_ I wanted to say. “ _I_ treat _him_ like shit? Where the hell have you been?”

“He only treats you the way you treat him!”

“Would you _both_ shut up?” Videl said for the second time that morning.

I turned, fuming again. Sharpner had no idea what the hell he was talking about—as usual.

Gohan nudged my shoulder with his arm. “If you don't like this don guy, why do you stay with him?”

It's complicated,” I said softly.

“Oh, they're totally in love,” Erasa insisted again. “Sharpner's just a jealous jerk!”

 

 

“Hey, hey, Sera, wait up!” a voice called.

I glanced back, eyes catching Gohan jogging to catch up to me. Swallowing my urge to flee, I slowed down. “What's up?”

“I was wondering, actually,” he said, and I felt myself tense. “I saw you taking notes. Do you mind if I take a look at them? See what I missed?”

I relaxed slightly. “You want to look at my notes?”

He nodded. “It's my first day at school, and I figured there's probably a lot I've missed. I just want to catch up.” He was carrying his books with him. “We could go get tea and study notes together?”

I hesitated. The more time I spent with him, the more likely he'd remember me. And yet. . . . “Okay,” I said softly, hesitantly. “Okay, we can do that. Sounds . . . fun.”

I was surprised to realize I actually meant that. “But you can drink tea. I'm getting coffee. Tea doesn't do anything for me.”

He beamed, and fell into step beside me. “Coffee, alright. Are there any cafes nearby?”

“Actually, there's one right across the street there,” I said, pointing. “Over there.”

He glanced over, not seeming surprised, and nodded. “That looks good.” He grabbed my elbow with a firm, strong grasp when I went to cross the street—right as a car flew past. “Careful! You should always look both ways before crossing the street.”

I was a little rattled. How I hadn't noticed that car, I didn't know, but I let him lead the way across the street, to the cafe—raising one brow when he opened the door for me. “Thanks?”

He smiled slightly. “Not used to doors being opened for you?”

I shook my head, walked past him into the cafe. It was a small, cozy little place that nobody from our school would likely ever go. Filled with older people, drinking coffee, eating food. Nobody under 20 would come here. I instantly liked it. “It's nice.”

He led the way to a small, two-person table, and waited for me to sit before he sat down, then placed his notebook on the table, open.

I pulled my notes from my bag, setting my bag at my feet. “Alright. Where do we start?”

“Math. That's my favorite subject. What's yours?”

“I like writing, so Miss Hamilton's class is my favorite.”

He smiled slightly. “You like to write? What kind of writing?”

“Sci-fi/fantasy, mostly.”

“Yea? Do you like to read, too?”

“I love reading.”

“Any favorite authors?”

“The American Shakespeare really calls to me. I love his work. And I really like Ryu Mitsuse's Hyakuoku no Hiru to Senoku no Yuru.”

“Yea?” His smile widened. “I like that book, too. It's really interesting. Makes you think.”

“And Sakyo Komatsu's work is really good.”

“Agreed. And I really enjoy his perspective on-!”

“Hi! Welcome to Cafe Stormfly. Do you guys know what you want? Or do you need a menu?”

Gohan looked up, smiling slightly. “Oh, uh, right now, I think we just want coffee, but would you mind leaving a menu?”

She dropped one off, going off to get coffee without asking how we wanted it made.

“So,” I said, opening my notebook to my math notes. “So you want to start with math, yea?”

He nodded. “Yea. I like math.” He watched me read over my notes for a moment. “It's none of my business,” he said after a moment, making me look up, “but after meeting Don, and seeing how you two interact. . . . Why are you with him?”

“Why do you want to know?” I asked him, wincing at the ice in my own voice.

“He seems kinda . . . selfish. And rude. And the way he talks to you, it just . . . seems like he has no respect for you. Why would you want to be with someone like that?”

I watched him for a moment. “Gohan, is the reason you asked me here to look over notes, or to ask about my personal life?”

He looked away slightly. “It just seems wrong for you to be with someone like that. . . .”

“Well, no offense, but who I'm with isn't really any of your business, is it?” Hearing how harsh that sounded, and wanting desperately not to be harsh to him—though, why, I didn't know—I added, “There's a lot going on that you can't see.”

“Well, make me see, then.” He paused. “Look, I know it's none of my business, I just don't like the way he talks to you.”

“If you hang around long enough, you'll find out _I'm_ the rude one.”

“That's another thing,” he added, glancing up when the waitress brought our coffee back. She had brought two cups of coffee, a pitcher of cream, and I realized there was a whole little basket of sugars. “Thank you,” he told her, and she nodded and left, and he looked at me again. “Everyone blames _you_ for his actions. They seem to think you deserve it. Is there something I'm missing?”

“I do deserve it,” I told him softly. “Like I said, there's a lot you don't see.”

“ _Nobody_ deserves to be talked to the way he's talked to you.” He was mixing his coffee, adding two packs of sugar, and a bit of cream. “He talks about you like you're his property—and that's the way he talks _in front_ of you. I heard the things he said behind your back. Sera, that guy, he thinks of you as his property. His . . . _toy,_ for lack of a better word. You deserve a lot better than that.”

“You really don't know what you're talking about. All guys talk about their girlfriends like that. And all guys talk to their girlfriends like that. It's just a guy thing.”

“My dad _never_ talks to my mom like that. If he did, I think she'd hurt him.”

 _From what I remembered, this is probably true._ “Anyway, math notes. This is what I have. Do you want to borrow them, or copy them?”

Sensing that was the end of the conversation, Gohan said, “Actually, I'd like to review them, and study a bit together. I've got an hour before I have to head home.”

“Okay. I could use the studying myself. . . .” I remembered something else then, and grinned over at him, causing his eyes to widen. “I heard about you getting Sharpie out today. He was pissed.”

He chuckled. “Yea? I've never played baseball before. It was kinda fun.”

“From what I heard, you were a natural at it.”

“Well, thanks. Have you ever played?”

I nodded. “Yea, but I prefer soccer. I joined a soccer club, and we make up teams and play each other every week. It's a lot of fun.” I fiddled with my papers a moment. “Have you joined any clubs yet?”

He shook his head. “No, but Sharpner told me I should join the wrestling team.” He took his first sip of his coffee, then winced, pushing it away. “You like this stuff? I think I'll stick with tea.”

I laughed at that. “You've never had coffee before? Really?” I grinned at him. “You should stick with tea, then. Coffee's an acquired-!” My phone rang. Lifting up off the chair a bit, I pulled it from my back pocket, then winced slightly. “Don's calling, probably wondering where I am. I have to answer this. I'll be right back.” Glancing around, I quickly spied the signs for the women's bathroom, and hurried toward it, answering. “Yea, Don?”

“Where the hell are you? I thought we made plans after school.”

“No, _you_ made plans, and expected me to just follow, like usual,” I snapped.

“You know better than to not follow along. Where are you? Or do I have to use the tracker on your phone?”

I'd forgotten about the tracker. “It doesn't matter where I am. And don't use the tracker, Don.” I hung up, and, without thinking about it, crushed the phone in my hand, then dumped the remnants in the trash before going back out to the restaurant. Pausing at the table, I gathered up my books. “I have to go,” before Don realizes I broke the phone and follows me here, “but here, you can borrow my notes. Raincheck?”

He was frowning. “Sera, is Don demanding you go find him?”

“Kinda, but that doesn't mean I have to go.” I flashed a smile, reached into my pocket to grab some cash—what little I had left. “And don't tell anyone we were here, yea?”

“I already paid the bill when you were in the bathroom,” Gohan told me when he saw the cash in my hand. “I'll return your notebook tomorrow morning in school.”

I blinked. “Y-you paid for my coffee?”

He nodded. “I figured you'd be rushing out as soon as he called, so I paid before you came back out.”

“Well, here, take-!”

“I don't want your money, Sera.”

I stared at him. “Then what _do_ you want?”

He smiled, pulling my notebook closer. “I just want your notes.”

 

 

The swing creaked as I swung back and forth. The moon was almost full, and it felt nice to be out and about. I wasn't sure where I'd go after this, but I'd figure it out, one way or another. I just knew I wasn't going home.

Whenever Don made “plans,” it always involved sex. I didn't want to go home to sex tonight. Or any night. So any night I knew he was planning it, I avoided him as much as I could. Tonight was one of those nights, just like last night had been, and the night before that, and the night before that.

Luckily, today I'd been paid.

Every now and then, I'd have to go home to appease him, but mostly, I stayed at hotel rooms that I paid for with cash from my secret job. Don would be pissed if he knew I had money, or a job he didn't know about. Any winnings from tournaments I won, he kept on his person, away from me. He knew I'd be easier to control if I had no money.

Maybe I would be, if I knew I'd have to sleep on the cold streets. Maybe I would go home more often. But that didn't stop me before I'd gotten the job, and it certainly wasn't stopping me now.

A powerful _Ki_ was approaching me. I glanced up in time to see someone land a few feet from me. Wearing a green, long tunic over a tight black, long-sleeved shirt, and black pants, with white boots, and a red cape—and was that a friggin' helmet?—the man stood there a moment. “Hello, young lady, what are you doing out this late? Don't you know this city's wrought with criminals?”

 _Oh. The new hero of the city. What was his name again?_ “Maybe I'm one of them, I told him honestly. “Maybe I'm just casing this place for a big job.”

He glanced around. “You're gonna rob a playground? Sorry to tell you, but the most you'll get is a few cents.”

I shrugged. “Maybe I'm a kidnapper?”

He shook his head, stepping closer to me, then took the swing next to me. “You look more like someone with something on their mind.”

And that, I was. A lot on my mind. Gohan, who'd been nice to me since he'd started school a week ago, and Don, who'd grown increasingly erratic at school and had started to complain about me not having sex with him to Sharpner.

“I always have something on my mind.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

I scoffed. “To a stranger? No thanks. I think I'd rather mull it over in silence.”

“I'd think it'd be easier to talk to a stranger. Someone unbiased. You can't see my face, and it's too dark for me to really see yours—where's the harm in talking?”

That made me sigh, and I found that, weirdly enough, I _wanted_ to talk to someone. “It's better if I don't.”

“I don't think so. It's never better to let something fester.”

I sighed again. “It's just . . . hard to explain, without revealing too much.”

“Hey, after tonight, who knows if we ever see each other again? So tell me.”

“A long time ago, I had this . . . _friend._ He was the first person to ever treat me like anything more than . . . dirt, really. And I really liked him. But things happened, and I had to leave, and I haven't seen him for a long time. But he recently started at school with me. And I don't know if he remembers me or not. He hasn't said anything to me that makes me think that he does, but. . . .”

“You want him to remember you?”

I shook my head. “Not at all. Quite the opposite. If he remembers me, Don—my . . . boyfriend—will make me leave. I like where we live right now. He'll take me someplace he'd never find me again, and I don't want that. Not because I want him to find me, but because I don't want to go where he'd take me. And, to be honest,” I smiled slightly, “it's been . . . nice, talking to him again. Even if he _doesn't_ remember me, y'know? It's still like, a blast from the past. I'd forgotten how well we got along, and how good of a person he is.” Then I frowned. “Besides, if he remembers me, he'd want to know more about what my life's been like since we separated. And I don't want him to know. I don't want him to know anything about my life now, or what I've done since I left.”

“It can't have been that bad. It's not like you're a criminal or anything.”

Then why did I feel that I was? “You don't know what you're talking about. If he found out what I've done—what I've _had_ to do to survive, he'd never look at me the same way again. He'd never want anything to do with me. Not that he would be able to, even if he'd want to. After Don realized he remembered me, he'd make me leave.”

“Whatever you've done, even if it is that bad, I'm sure he'd forgive you.”

“I'm not. Even if he does, he wouldn't see me the same. I barely recognize myself.”

“Well, what have you done? Have you hurt anyone?”

I hesitated. “Not intentionally.”

“Have you killed anyone?”

“No.”

“Have you committed any crime?”

“Yes. A lot of crimes.”

“Did you _willingly_ commit those crimes?”

“Some of them.”

“Some of them?”

“I've stolen, to survive. I ran away from home once, and was gone for about four months before I was found. To survive, I stole, a lot, because, really, I didn't know any other way to survive here. This place is very different from where I was born. I broke into houses then, too, after I'd run away. Places to sleep. Even before, and after, I ran away, I've broken into houses. Only empty ones. Never with people in them. And I'd steal from those houses. After I got a job, I stopped doing that. I just stayed at hotels when I needed to.”

“If you have an apartment, why would you need to?”

“Sometimes, it's just easier.”

“Maybe,” he said slowly, “maybe if you told your old friend this, maybe he would understand. Maybe he'd even be able to help you. You wouldn't need to stay in hotels anymore. I'm sure he'd help you.”

“He can't help me. There's a lot more to all this than you know, than I can possibly tell you.”

“Are you staying in a hotel tonight?”

I nodded. “Yea. I have to be back by ten, or they close their doors for the night.”

“You should head back soon, then. It's almost ten.”

“I'm fast. I've got time.” I flashed a grin. “I could probably make it back in ten seconds.”

“I could walk you there.”

I shook my head. “No offense, dude, but I'd rather nobody knew where I'm staying.” I glanced at him. “Just in case, y'know?”

“I'm not going to hurt you. Or let you get hurt.”

“It's alright. There's very little in this city capable of hurting me.”

“Let me walk you back. I'm really not going to hurt you. I can get you back a lot faster.”

I glanced at him then, wanting to say no again, but finding myself saying, “Okay,” before I could stop myself. “But only to the door of the hotel. Not to my room.”

He nodded. “Fair enough.” He slid off the swing, waited for me. Once I slid off, he quickly swept me up into his arms, ignoring my squeal of indignation.

“Hey, what are you doing?!”

“I'm getting you back to your hotel.” He lifted into the air, then shot off quickly. “It's faster if I just fly you there.”

I clung to him, face against his shirt. “This isn't funny! Put me down—I hate being carried!”

He laughed. “Don't worry, I won't drop you. And even if I did, I'm fast enough to catch you before you fall too far!”

“That's not comforting!”

 


End file.
